Showtime

The power of the space bar

Backstage, a laptop running Showtime: the show’s run sheet on the left, and what the current stage does on the right. Showtime. Laptop running Showtime A small comedy club stage, with a brick back wall, a high stool, a mic, and the audience at cabaret tables. The laptop running Showtime, shown to the left, is linked to four moving-head lights, the speakers, two TVs with Chromecasts, one showing the club’s logo while an act is on, a cue screen facing the act, and a Sony a7C camera in the audience, pointing at the stage. Each press of the space bar moves the show to its next stage. DRINK SPECIALS Pint and a shotHouse cocktailSoft drinks £8£7£2.50 Chromecast Chromecast Tracking Show 1A2B Comedy Night, 8:00 PM DMX lights TV 1 TV 2 Speakers iPad cue screen, facing the act Camera Sony a7C

Audio

Upload a playlist of MP3s, or trigger your existing music software. Showtime can dip the audio to play pre-recorded announcements.

  • The laptop plugs into your house mixer through a standard 3.5mm cable, or an audio interface.
  • Use Showtime for some or all of your music.
  • Use a MIDI controller for physical cue buttons.

Visuals

Have complete control of a venue TV or projector. Either through an HDMI cable from your laptop, or wirelessly using a Chromecast.

  • Display videos, act names, interactive elements, and more.
  • If there is a last minute running order change, Showtime will automatically update what’s on the screen.
  • Show the lineup at the end of the night and drive social media follows.

Act timer

A simple web page that can be displayed on an iPad, Android tablet, laptop, or any other device that can display a web page.

  • Tells the MC the name of the act who’s coming next.
  • Countdown timer for acts so they have no excuse not to run their light.
  • Display messages to the host during the show from production.

Lights

Showtime can control any venue lights. Using the standard DMX protocol, you can trigger scene changes, effects and more.

  • Pre-show lighting effects can be synced to music.
  • Trigger Philips Hue and other smart lighting through web hooks.
  • Use pre-programmed scenes, or plug in a MIDI desk to trigger manually.
  • New to DMX? See how it works ↓

Audience polls

In the interval the TVs ask the room a question, with a QR code. People scan it and answer on their phones, and the results go up on the TVs after the interval.

  • The number of answers counts up on the TVs while the poll is open.
  • Mailing list sign-ups come in during the interval, and Showtime ticks off each one.

Cameras

Modern cameras and switchers like the ATEM Mini are able to accept a trigger to start and stop recording from a network connection.

  • Using a third party driver, a tap of the space bar lets the camera know that the next act has started their set, so it restarts the recording.

How DMX works

Stage lights, a moving head and a smoke machine seen from behind, with their DMX ports and address displays, cabled to a lighting controller or a laptop. Lighting controller ENTTEC Showtime. DMX port Address